Common Name:

General Information

Ziziphus abyssinica is a fiercely thorny, semideciduous plant, varying in habit from an erect shrub; a scrambling plant that clambers into other vegetation for support; or a tree with drooping branches that form a heavy, rounded crown. It usually grows from 3 - 12 metres tall. The bole is usually straight[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas, through the Sahel from Senegal to Somalia, south through eastern Africa to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].

Properties

Edibility Rating

Medicinal Rating

Other Uses Rating

Habit

Semi-deciduous Shrub

Height

4.00 m

Pollinators

Bees

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant usually of the drier areas of the hot tropics, where it can be found at elevations from 400 - 2,000 metres[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].. The seed are discarded. The fruit is sometimes eaten as a snack, especially by children and herdsmen, but is more commonly viewed as a famine food, eaten only when nothing better is available[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].
A decoction of the roots, mixed with those of Rhynchosia resinosa, is drunk as a treatment for stomach-ache[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].
The roots are pounded and the powder is rubbed on the chest, which is first scarified, as a treatment for pneumonia[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].

The leaves are boiled and used as a steam bath for the treatment of pneumonia[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].
Ash from the burnt leaves is mixed with common salt and rubbed externally on to the throat to relieve tonsillitis[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is fiercely thorny and this virtue has been put to good use by making hedges of the plant that can keep out (or in) domestic animals and larger wild animals[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

].

The dark-brown to black wood is hard, heavy and resistant to termites and borers[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

]. It is used for furniture, interior work, carving, building poles and tool handles[

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.

A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.